Back For Good
by Pandora The Vampire
Summary: Ino and Shikamaru live successful lives on their own, but when they meet, they fall in love. Now they decided to live together, but a shared life is not has easy has it is portrayed. Can they make it or will trouble arise? AU, slight drama. ON HOLD
1. In the Beginning

**Author's Notes: **This is a songfic based on the song by **Take That – Back for good**. I have to warn you guys that there might be some drama on later chapters. Also, I don't plan to make this fiction very long so it will be about 5 or 6 chapters. Kind of like my **She will be loved** fiction.

Hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter one: In the beginning…**

_**I guess now it's time for me to give up  
I feel it's time  
Got a picture of you beside me  
Got your lipstick mark still on your coffee cup**_

"Oh, look! A shooting star. Isn't it beautiful?"

Her voice was filled with emotion. Her voluptuous lips curved up, beaming into a bright smile. Brighter that the star itself. Her hair was flowing slowly in the wind, kissed gently by the warm Summer breeze. Her eyes were glistening with happiness. It was perfect.

She was perfect.

"Yes. Absolutely stunning."

He wasn't nearly looking at the sky. The object of his adoration stood a mere foot from him, yet just out of his reach. His dark brown eyes had never let sight of her the whole night. If he ever dared look the other way, they were immediately drawn to her the next instant. She had him wrapped around her little finger and, annoyingly enough, she wasn't even aware of it.

Nara Shikamaru, the Government's strategist, was not a man for romance. But the mere sight of her perfect blue eyes, plus the way her blond strands caressed her face in the pale light of the night sky, made him want to declare his undying love for the woman.

How silly. Hadn't he always made fun of those poor idiots who bought their love flowers and candy? Hadn't he ungracefully snorted just by hearing a man sigh from love once?

Yes. He had. But that didn't keep him from swooning over the blonde at his side. His hand made an unexpected twitch. How he wanted to hold her.

"Shall we go inside?"

Her voice was like chocolate. No, wait. Honey. It was delicious and he wanted to hear her speak forever at his side.

Shikamaru swallowed a chuckle. Hadn't he become the hopeless romantic. He blamed it all on her. Yamanaka Ino. He had met her only one month ago and already he was feeling like mush whenever she looked at him.

She was at his office. Her suit looked perfect on her. Professional, yet sexy. She was there for an interview.

"_A job interview?" _He remembers asking.

_She smiled ever so lightly. "Not really…" The blond reached for her purse. "An interview for the daily Konoha…"_

Shikamaru now chuckles at the remembrance, but at the time, the few chosen words spoken by him couldn't have left a very good impression on the lady. Ah, but what did he really knew about women?

She was there the next day, and the other after that. It happened for almost a month, until he finally succumbed to the long awaited interview, only to not answer most of her questions. But she was satisfied, or so it seemed, because the next day she wasn't there.

He remembered feeling something strange. A kind of feeling he hadn't felt before. Somewhere around his stomach. A mysterious loss of something.

He dismissed it almost immediately and went back to his daily affairs, but the saucy, persistent blonde just couldn't seem to wander off his head.

The next day a package was waiting on the top of the desk. A journal. The Daily Konoha to be more specific.

Wait.

Was that a dinner invitation next to a thank you note? It was. The man sure was lucky.

That had happened just the week before and now here he stood with the most beautiful woman in the world, just by his side.

"Earth to Nara Shikamaru: are you there? Shall we deploy the missiles sir?"

Her hand was waving rhythmically in front of his nose and her face had the most adoringly funny expression ever witnessed.

"Wha-…? Oh…" Shikamaru scratched his head uncomfortably. He had become lost in his reminiscence. "Sorry, I was just acknowledging how extremely beautiful you look tonight."

And it was true. Her long, low neck dress was glued to her in a way that her perfect forms seemed to be even more perfect, her hair was expertly trapped in a bun at the back of her head and the faint blush that now colored her cheeks was an adorable finishing touch.

"Thank you, I feel flattered…"

They stood in a "what should be awkward silence", but was not because, unexplainably, they felt just that good in each other's presence.

"Well, shall we go inside? I feel like dancing…"

Her words were almost whispered, but he nodded and led her inside the grand salon. A slow music was on.

It was the perfect opportunity.

Shikamaru smiled inwardly. He had never been one for love, but looking down at the perfect young lady by his arms, he felt like the luckiest man alive. He felt very much in love.

They started swaying gently with the song. His arms secured safely around her thin waist, hers around his strong neck. She could feel his heartbeat against her ear. He could smell roses in her hair.

Everything was so perfect.

He lifted her chin, ever so gently. He didn't need to utter a word. Her eyes were expectant, her heart seemed like it was about to explode.

When his lips neared hers, her legs faltered but she would not let herself fall. Her eyes closed and she moved closer.

His breath was warm, his touch was light.

When their lips met everything seemed to fade away. Shikamaru once thought that that was just a silly expression writers used to fill their reader's head with foolishness, but who knew that they could be right?

They were alone, or so it seemed. The world was theirs. His lips, her lips, that was all that was necessary.

It was a perfect night.

**TBC**


	2. The Unsorted Feelings

**Author's notes: **Hope you're enjoying this so far. So this chapter is weird… and so will be the next of the story, but I said so in the summary… start preparing yourselves for the drama!

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**Chapter two: The unsorted feelings**

_**Got a fist of pure emotion  
Got a head of shattered dreams  
Gotta leave it, gotta leave it all behind now**_

Two years had passed since that night, and everyday they seemed to be more in love. Their friends were wondering when they were to be wed, it couldn't be much longer now. They were both living together and were very happy.

They both knew that they had found the love of their lives.

Only if perfect could last forever…

"Shikamaru, I invited your parents over for dinner tonight. Your mother said she had something special to announce." Ino licked the whipped cream on her finger while she stared at the oven and talked to her boyfriend.

Shikamaru's eyes were glued to the TV screen. He was playing some martial arts video game that consisted on ninjas battling each other.

"Hmm hmm…"

That was his response.

She was pacing back and forth, grabbing her apron once, then coming back to the living room to tidy the place up. Then remembering something in the kitchen and going back there in a weird dance.

She stopped pacing and faced her boyfriend.

"Did you hear me?"

He paused the game, seeing as she was in front of the monitor.

"My parent's are coming, yes I heard."

She placed her hands on her hips and her brows knitted together. "And why in the world are you still playing that silly game?"

Shikamaru sighed. "I'm just finishing this level, Ino. I'll turn it off in a second."

Ino threw her arms in the air and went back into the kitchen, annoyed. Honestly, Shikamaru was the best boyfriend one could have, he was romantic, well, not always but that's what made it so special, and he was attentive to her. But what really ticked her off was his laziness and lack of responsibility.

Well, for certain things that is. In work he was very reliable and one of the best, but at home he could be such a slack.

"Can you please turn that off and help me make dinner? I need you to buy me some flowers Shikamaru…" the tone of her voice was pleading yet demanding.

"Sure." He said, but didn't made a single move from were he was standing.

Ino returned to the living room and stood next to Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru, seriously, I mean it. I need flowers. Turn that off and help me."

Shikamaru sighed irritably and got up. "Fine! Damn it Ino, I was just trying to relax. I actually do some tiring work during the day. I do not run around town fishing the latest gossip to write about in the paper."

Just as the words left his mouth he regretted them. What in the world had possessed him to say such things?

Ino was flabbergasted. "What? What are you trying to say?"

Her boyfriend scratched the back of his head, obviously altered and annoyed for saying something that might trigger a discussion. That was something he didn't really want to do right now, since discussions seemed to be more and more often around them.

"I'm not trying to say anything Ino, please forget it. I'll get you the flowers." He made a move to get past her and into the door but she stopped him with a stare.

"Oh I think I know damn well what you're trying to say. You just don't want to talk about it. Like you never want to talk about anything else that may cause a heated argument! You are incredible you know?"

Ino was stressed. She loved Shikamaru. She may even like his laziness because, despite ticking her off, that was harmless and kind of cute. But what really got to her nerves was this! Shikamaru was always trying to run away from serious things.

It had happen when she had first mentioned moving in together; it had happen when he had wanted to buy a pinball machine for the house and she said no; it had happen many other times because, honestly, Ino was a difficult woman! Shikamaru just had to learn to deal with it.

"I think that what you are trying to say is that what I do is not worthy. That it is not tiring or respectable. Isn't it?"

Shikamaru sighed and sat down. The argument had started despite his efforts. Why did Ino have to be so damn difficult?

"I am a journalist! I am not a silly gossip writer as you say and what I happen to do for a living does involve a whole lot of work!"

Shikamaru groaned at his own stupidity and lack of sensibility and tried to reach for Ino's hand. "I said I was sorry. I didn't mean it."

She pushed him away.

"No! Don't touch me Shikamaru, I am not very pleased with you right now. Seriously! Have you always thought that about me? Or was it just a spur of the moment? Can you honestly tell me that that thought wasn't the same one on your mind the very first time I walked in your office?"

"Ino, come on…" He tried, without very much success, to reach out for her hand again.

"Oh my God…" Ino backed up, feeling troubled, "It's true… you always thought that… you never thought that I was a respectable journalist… oh my God…"

Now this was going too far.

"Ino come on. Stop it. I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean what I said. Of course I think you are a very respectable journalist. I believe in your work, I know very well what you are capable of."

She stomped her feet. "Then why did you say that?"

Shikamaru scratched his head. He knew the reason, he just didn't want to start a fight over it. But, since one had already started, now was just a good time as ever.

"I just…" he hesitated.

"What!? Say it!"

"I just think that you are worth more. The way you write, you could be editing your own journal by now! But you still seem to think that you are perfectly happy in a gossip newspaper, writing things that only cracked up old ladies read!"

Ino sat down. Her legs felt heavy but her head was really light. How could he be saying those things? Didn't he know her? They were perfect for each other in every way. They had always been in sync with each other since the first time they laid eyes on one another. But this? This misconception? This frugal, idiotic ideas and stereotypes about her job?

She stared at him, her eyes sad and confused.

"But I am perfectly happy…"

Shikamaru sighed.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean-.."

She shook her head frantically. "Stop it. You did. You meant every word. Just for how long have you held this in?"

Shikamaru stared at the ground and remained silent.

"I see…"

The bell rang loudly, waking Ino up from her distraction.

"It's your parents." She got up, straightened out her hair and plastered a smile on her face. "Go let them in Shikamaru, I'll finish dinner. Set up the table after they've come in please. Oh, and try to be nice, just for once."

And with that she was gone to the kitchen. Shikamaru sighed. He somehow felt empty.

He knew that Ino had locked her feelings inside for the rest of dinner, but and what about after? Had he gone too far? He had only said the truth. He knew that it would hurt her, but, eventually, she would see that he was right. She belonged somewhere better. She was worth more.

Worth more that him now that he thought of it…

**TBC**


End file.
